IEEE.orgIEEE Xplore Digital LibraryIEEE StandardsMore Sites
      Sign InJoin IEEE
      Electric Motorcycle Races for the Finish at Pikes Peak International
      Share
      FOR THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDER
      Explore by topic
      AerospaceArtificial IntelligenceBiomedicalComputingConsumer ElectronicsEnergyHistory of TechnologyRoboticsSemiconductorsSensorsTelecommunicationsTransportation
      IEEE Spectrum
      FOR THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDER

      Topics

      AerospaceArtificial IntelligenceBiomedicalComputingConsumer ElectronicsEnergyHistory of TechnologyRoboticsSemiconductorsSensorsTelecommunicationsTransportation

      Sections

      FeaturesNewsOpinionCareersDIYThe Big PictureEngineering Resources

      More

      Special ReportsCollectionsExplainersPodcastsVideosNewslettersTop Programming LanguagesRobots Guide

      For IEEE Members

      Current IssueMagazine ArchiveThe InstituteTI Archive

      For IEEE Members

      Current IssueMagazine ArchiveThe InstituteTI Archive

      IEEE Spectrum

      About UsContact UsReprints & PermissionsAdvertising

      Follow IEEE Spectrum

      Support IEEE Spectrum

      IEEE Spectrum is the flagship publication of the IEEE — the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences. Our articles, podcasts, and infographics inform our readers about developments in technology, engineering, and science.
      Join IEEE
      Subscribe
      About IEEEContact & SupportAccessibilityNondiscrimination PolicyTermsIEEE Privacy Policy
      © Copyright 2023 IEEE — All rights reserved. A not-for-profit organization, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

      IEEE websites place cookies on your device to give you the best user experience. By using our websites, you agree to the placement of these cookies. To learn more, read our Privacy Policy.

      view privacy policy accept & close

      Enjoy more free content and benefits by creating an account

      Saving articles to read later requires an IEEE Spectrum account

      The Institute content is only available for members

      Downloading full PDF issues is exclusive for IEEE Members

      Access to Spectrum's Digital Edition is exclusive for IEEE Members

      Following topics is a feature exclusive for IEEE Members

      Adding your response to an article requires an IEEE Spectrum account

      Create an account to access more content and features on IEEE Spectrum, including the ability to save articles to read later, download Spectrum Collections, and participate in conversations with readers and editors. For more exclusive content and features, consider Joining IEEE.

      Join the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences and get access to all of Spectrum’s articles, archives, PDF downloads, and other benefits. Learn more →

      CREATE AN ACCOUNTSIGN IN
      JOIN IEEESIGN IN
      Close

      Special offer: Join IEEE now for 2023 and save 50%!

      IEEE Members receive 12 print issues of IEEE Spectrum and enjoy PDF downloads, full access to our archive with thousands of in-depth articles, and other exclusive content and features. Join IEEE today for 2023 and save 50%!

      JOIN IEEE
      TransportationTopicTypeVideo

      Electric Motorcycle Races for the Finish at Pikes Peak International

      An all-student motorcycle team from Ohio State University attempts to set a new course record with their battery-powered Buckeye Current bike

      Kristen Clark
      05 Jul 2016
      Photo: Stephen Sullivan/Randels Media Group
      alternative transportationtype:videoelectric vehiclesTritium Wave Sculptorsoftware bugOhio State UniversityBuckeye Currentracing slickslithium-ion batteryelectric motorcyclePikes Peak International Hill Climb

      This year an all-student electric motorcycle team from Ohio State University, hoped to set a new course record at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Pikes Peak, Colorado, with their Buckeye Current bike. The challenging course rises a punishing 1,440 meters over just a 20-kilometer course, and that meant the bike’s design had to tradeoff delivering power and storing energy. The team chose to give priority to power so that they could tackle tight turns and blaze up the hill, storing just enough to get up the hill. (They decided they would walk the bike down afterwards, if they had to.)

      During the four days leading up to the race, the team ran head on into several last-minute engineering crises, including a burned out noisemaker—required of all e-vehicles, so that errant pedestrians could hear them coming. The fix: an $8 car alarm.

      More serious was the tendency of the motor to cut out, which forced the professionl driver, Rob “The Bullet” Barber, to reset the system. The initial fix was a workaround circuit, but when the power cutouts became more frequent the team realized they had a fundamental problem, traced to a failure of the inverter, which turns the battery’s direct current to the alternating kind. Two days before the race was to be held, the bike would not start—and the vendor of the inverter was deep into the weekend on the other side of the world.

      The team pulled yet another all-nighter, found the culprit—a circuit that had been misaligned and whose fuses had thus blown out—and repaired the damage. On Saturday, they got the bike working at full capacity at a local track. Twelve hours later they brought the bike to the base of the mountain.

      Watch the bike and action and find out how it finished the race in this video.

      Read More: Day One at Pikes Peak Motorcycle Race With Ohio State's Electric Motorcycle

       

      Music Note: Think Tank by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

      Photos (in order of appearance): Corey Davis/Randels Media Group, James Harris/Randels Media Group, Philip Ross/IEEE Spectrum

      The Conversation (0)

      Trending Stories

      The most-read stories on IEEE Spectrum right now

      TelecommunicationsTopicTypeComputingNews

      This Mirror Reverses How Light Travels in Time

      TransportationTopicTypeAnalysis

      What Is Tesla’s Mystery Magnet?

      CareersTopicTypeNews

      Eight Graphs That Explain Software Engineering Salaries in 2023

      RoboticsTopicTypeSpecial ReportsVideo

      360 Video: Zoom Over Zanzibar With Tanzania’s Drone Startups

      Come along for the ride as drones soar over the farms and schools of Tanzania

      Evan Ackerman

      Evan Ackerman is a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum. Since 2007, he has written over 6,000 articles on robotics and technology. He has a degree in Martian geology and is excellent at playing bagpipes.

      Michael Koziol

      Michael Koziol is an associate editor at IEEE Spectrum where he covers everything telecommunications. He graduated from Seattle University with bachelor's degrees in English and physics, and earned his master's degree in science journalism from New York University.

      Eliza Strickland

      Eliza Strickland is a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum, where she covers AI, biomedical engineering, and other topics. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

      09 May 2019
      6:56
      Photo: IEEE Spectrum
      dronesgadgetstype:videoEast Africa dronesmappingTanzaniaAfricadelivery drones360 video

      With 360-degree video, IEEE Spectrum puts you aboard drones that are flying high above the Tanzanian landscape: You’ll ride along as drones soar above farms, towns, and the blue expanse of Lake Victoria. You’ll also meet the local entrepreneurs who are creating a new industry, finding applications for their drones in land surveying and delivery. And you’ll get a close-up view from a bamboo grove as a drone pilot named Bornlove builds a flying machine from bamboo and other materials.

      You can follow the action in a 360-degree video in three ways: 1) Watch on your computer, using your mouse to click and drag on the video; 2) watch on your phone, moving the phone around to change your view; or 3) watch on a VR headset for the full immersive experience.

      Keep Reading ↓Show less
      RoboticsTopicTypeSpecial ReportsVideo

      360 Video: Go on a Mission With Zipline’s Delivery Drones

      Immerse yourself in the action as Zipline catapults its drones into the Rwandan sky

      Evan Ackerman

      Evan Ackerman is a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum. Since 2007, he has written over 6,000 articles on robotics and technology. He has a degree in Martian geology and is excellent at playing bagpipes.

      Michael Koziol

      Michael Koziol is an associate editor at IEEE Spectrum where he covers everything telecommunications. He graduated from Seattle University with bachelor's degrees in English and physics, and earned his master's degree in science journalism from New York University.

      Eliza Strickland

      Eliza Strickland is a senior editor at IEEE Spectrum, where she covers AI, biomedical engineering, and other topics. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

      06 May 2019
      IEEE Spectrum
      dronestype:videoEast Africa dronesRwandadelivery dronesZipline360 video

      With 360 video, IEEE Spectrum takes you behind the scenes with one of the world’s first drone-delivery companies. Zipline, based in California, is using drones to deliver blood to hospitals throughout Rwanda. At an operations center in Muhanga, you’ll watch as Zipline technicians assemble the modular drones, fill their cargo holds, and launch them via catapult. You’ll see a package float down from the sky above a rural hospital, and you’ll get a closeup look at Zipline’s ingenious method for capturing returning drones.

      You can follow the action in a 360-degree video in three ways: 1) Watch on your computer, using your mouse to click and drag on the video; 2) watch on your phone, moving the phone around to change your view; or 3) watch on a VR headset for the full immersive experience.

      Keep Reading ↓Show less
      DIYTopicTypeVideo

      A Techie’s Tour of New York City

      Here are some NYC attractions that you won’t find in the guidebooks

      Stephen Cass

      Stephen Cass is the special projects editor at IEEE Spectrum. He currently helms Spectrum's Hands On column, and is also responsible for interactive projects such as the Top Programming Languages app. He has a bachelor's degree in experimental physics from Trinity College Dublin.

      17 Oct 2018
      A Techie's Tour Of NYC
      www.youtube.com
      type:videoNew York CityDIYtourismvideosrocketsNikola Teslahistorytechnologyeventshackerspacenew york citynikola teslanyc tourist videonyc tourist guidetech tour nycvideonyc tech tour

      Do your travel plans include New York City? Are you a techie? If the answer to those questions is yes, let IEEE Spectrum be your guide! We've put together a list of some of our favorite places to visit, including important locations in the history of electrotechnology (New York was once the center of the electrical and electronic world) and places where fun and interesting things are happening today. See where Nikola Tesla lived, check out cutting-edge artists working with technology, or take the kids to see an Atlas and Titan rocket.

      All the locations are accessible via the subway, and many are free to visit. If you do visit, take a selfie and post a link in the comments below.

      Keep Reading ↓Show less
      About IEEEContact & SupportAccessibilityNondiscrimination PolicyTermsIEEE Privacy Policy
      © Copyright 2023 IEEE — All rights reserved. A not-for-profit organization, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.